The age of Rahul and Haroon are in the ratio 5:7. Four years later the sum of ages will be 56 years. What are their present ages?

The given question can be simplified using the linear equations in one variable and the concept of ratios.

Answer: The present ages of Rahul and Haroon are 20 years and 28 years respectively.

Let's try to rewrite the given information mathematically using linear equations.

Explanation:

Let the age of Rahul be 5x and the age of Haroon be 7x, given that their ages are in the 5:7 ratio.

4 years later: the age of Rahul will be (5x + 4) and age of Haroon will be (7x + 4).

The sum of their ages after 4 years will be 56 years.

⇒ (5x+4) + (7x+4) = 56

⇒ 5x + 7x + 4 + 4 = 56

⇒ 12x + 8 = 56

⇒ 12x = 56 - 8

⇒ 12x = 48

⇒ x = 48/12 = 4

⇒ age of Rahul = 5x = 5(4) = 20 years

 ⇒ age of Haroon = 7x = 7(4) = 28 years

Thus, the present ages of Rahul and Haroon are 20 years and 28 years respectively.